Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Lori Lou Freshwater @lorifreshwater.bsky.social · 2h

At some point the amount of war crimes and federal crimes and just all the crimes they are openly doing without restraint is going to meet that place in your mind that’s pondering how hard they’ll fight to stay in power and I hope you are sitting down for it.

4 9

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Alina Stefanescu @alinaetc.bsky.social · 2h

Every day he poured his question into her, as you pour water from one vessel into another, and it poured back. Don't tell me he was painting his mother, lust, et cetera. There is a moment when the water is not in one vessel nor in the other—

- Anne Carson, “On the Mona Lisa”

1 10

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Noir Haunted Shack🕸♬🎞🦇 @noirbeachshack.bsky.social · 1h

ℂ𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕃𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕠𝕟 at the Drive-In Theatre

1 5 26

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Andrea Pitzer @andreapitzer.bsky.social · 38m

The creation of a billionaire class was such a grievous error.

5 16 130

Doug Coulson @dougcoulson.bsky.social · 15m

Trump is considering sending National Guard to San Francisco www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Trump is considering sending National Guard to San Francisco

His deployments in other cities have faced high-profile legal challenges.

www.politico.com

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Ruth Ben-Ghiat @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social · 10h

Important: this is exactly how propagandists operate.

Bill McCarthy @billmccarthy.bsky.social · 1d

NEW:

A dramatic voiceover video the White House and Donald Trump shared last week claiming to show "chaos" in Chicago is littered with outdated footage from Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Nebraska, California and Arizona, an AFP investigation found.

factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com....

6 240 510

Reposted by Doug Coulson

The Borowitz Report @borowitzreport.bsky.social · 17h

“We gave you a 400-million-dollar 747. You’re not sticking us in some Idaho shithole.”

Qataris Reject Trump’s Idaho Offer and Demand Airbase at Mar-a-Lago

“We gave you a 400-million-dollar 747. You’re not sticking us in some Idaho shithole.”

www.borowitzreport.com

9 44 230

Reposted by Doug Coulson

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 6h

They've been arguing in court repeatedly that there are no plans for a shutdown and that they will honor all statutory obligations.
Not sure what a legal system does with a government that simply isn't credible.

Reuters @reuters.com · 11h

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers reut.rs/4qjMIyT

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers

White House budget director Russell Vought said he wants to close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and expects to do so within the next two to three months.

reut.rs

31 200 770

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Chris Mirasola @chrismirasola.bsky.social · 5h

I can’t overstate how entirely untethered to the constitution and past practice this unilateral move to repurpose funds to pay for military pay is. The commander-in-chief clause has precisely 0 bearing on the ability to expend funds. Here’s a list of authorities that do:

National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-8

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF WAR THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET SUBJECT: Use of

www.whitehouse.gov

21 200 700

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 13h

This entire argument by Louisiana and the conservatives questions are premised on an erasure of Congress’ enforcement power under the 14th & 15th Amendments.

Literally swinging for the fences to wipe out the premise for the legitimacy of Congress’ power to enact civil rights statutes.

26 570 1.7K

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Dominique Baker @bakerdphd.bsky.social · 12h

"Pulitzer-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones is teaming up with local entrepreneurs to create a literary salon in the landmarked Bed Stuy building."

Y'all know I was born for a time where one could discuss the prose of James Baldwin and then messy gossip

www.brownstoner.com/brooklyn-lif...

Bookstore to Open in Former Macon Hardware Digs

Pulitzer-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones is teaming up with Bed-Vyne's owners to create a literary salon in the Bed Stuy building.

www.brownstoner.com

1 44 250

Reposted by Doug Coulson

womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 27m

Kiva-step vase, 1993, by Jean Bad Moccasin, artist of the Lakota Sioux Nation #WomensArt

Photonof a circular ceramic pot or vase, the pot is highly decorated with many sections of pattern, including symbolic geometric motifs and stylised images of animals such as a hare and a deer, all in colours of orange, black, white, pink and yellow

17 79

Reposted by Doug Coulson

SCOTUSblog @scotusblog.com · 1d

Here's a look at Justice Kennedy's new book, including what he had to say on originalism, his most controversial cases, abortion, Vladimir Putin, and music.

A dive into Justice Kennedy’s new memoir

Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy’s memoir, Life, Law and Liberty, comes out today, Oct. 14. Within the next few weeks, SCOTUSblog will publish a review of the book. To whet readers’ […]

www.scotusblog.com

1 2 7

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Jessica Pishko @jesspish.bsky.social · 16h

for @slate.com I wrote about Joe Arpaio's view on the SCOTUS shadow docket decision in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, the case in which Kavanaugh said it was okay to racially profile people.
“I was vindicated by the Supreme Court of all this shit.”
slate.com/news-and-pol...

He Was the Most Notorious Sheriff in America. He Says the Supreme Court Vindicated Him.

Thanks, SCOTUS.

slate.com

34 180 480

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Zeddy @zeddary.bsky.social · 10h

Core to playing this down is pretending that "Young Republicans" aren't 40 years old with top positions in both the party and government. One's a state senator.

Nathan Bernard @nathantbernard.bsky.social · 11h

the "kids" were mostly 30+ years old and said they love hitler

27 490 2K

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 12h

A former acting director of ICE says that, today, immigration control is the highest priority of federal police agencies and the Department of Defense. If that is true, then the administration is inviting both domestic crime and foreign aggression.
www.politico.com/news/magazin...

Why Is ICE So Aggressive Now? A Former ICE Chief Explains.

ICE used to arrest the “worst first.” Under the new Trump administration, “those rules are gone,” says a former ICE chief.

www.politico.com

21 210 610

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 5h

"a memorandum expanding his administration’s authority"

The phrasing you're looking for is that he's suspending parts of the Constitution by decree.

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 5h

President Trump on Wednesday signed a memorandum expanding his administration’s authority to repurpose unspent federal funds to pay members of the military during the government shutdown, escalating his challenge to the authority of Congress on spending matters.

Trump Signs Memo Expanding His Authority to Spend Federal Money

The president gave Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wide authority to repurpose funds to pay members of the military without approval from Congress, which has the sole constitutional authority to decide federal spending.

nyti.ms

27 500 1.5K

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · 10h

Trump's mechanism to pay the troops during the shutdown is by far the most illegal budgetary action he's taken as POTUS, potentially setting the stage to break everything.

It's also needless because Congress would easily pass a troop pay bill if Johnson were willing to gavel in.

Long thread.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/10/national-security-presidential-memorandum-nspm-8/

64 1.4K 3.4K

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.bsky.social · 3h

‼️ this is one of the reasons why the Musk shutdown of USAID broke me, like

Congress said 'we're allocating these funds to save lives'

a random asshole with too much money and unresolved bitterness about the end of Apartheid said 'no you're not'

so the funding disappeared??

and people are dying??

Hunter @hunterub.bsky.social · 6h

There's literally no reason for Congress to exist if any random freak in the presidential orbit can nullify laws and seize federal funds. All of this is plainly illegal, but Mike Johnson leads the most corrupt Congress in US history (and by a wide margin.)

Reuters @reuters.com · 11h

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers reut.rs/4qjMIyT

9 420 1.5K

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social · 6h

So this is just facially illegal right?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antidef...

150 380 1.4K

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Alex Merz 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇺🇦 @merz.bsky.social · 6h

After 158 years of publication.

Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 8h

UPDATE: Following the firing of the director of the student newspaper, Indiana University has now cut the print edition of the newspaper entirely.

www.idsnews.com/article/2025...

Indiana University cuts IDS print entirely, hours after firing student media director
By IDS staff
Oct 15, 2025 1:23 pm · Updated Oct 15, 2025 1:23 pm

IU previously directed the Indiana Daily Student to stop printing news coverage in our newspaper. Upon pushback, the university fully cut print, including our special editions. The IDS was not involved in the decision.

Media School Dean David Tolchinsky sent the order to IDS leadership in an email responding to its appeal that the school not censor the newspaper. And the dean attributed the decision to “the campus.” He has not yet responded to a message for clarification.

1 18 31

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 7h

That’s $5 billion more than the entire annual USAID budget. All to one country. To rescue one friend of the president’s.

Ilhan Omar @ilhanmn.bsky.social · 7h

Trump found another $20 BILLION to give to Argentina, totaling their bailout to $40 BILLION.

Yet we can’t afford to prevent millions of Americans from losing their healthcare.

Shame.

64 1.2K 2.9K

Reposted by Doug Coulson

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 9h

white reactionaries disenfranchising black voters to secure political power? that’s a jim crow. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...

The Supreme Court Case That Could Hand the House to Republicans

www.nytimes.com

110 1.7K 5.4K

Reposted by Doug Coulson

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 6h

would love to know where vought got the authority to shutdown a government agency established by statute

Reuters @reuters.com · 11h

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers reut.rs/4qjMIyT

White House budget director Vought plans to shut down CFPB within months, says it's no longer protecting consumers

White House budget director Russell Vought said he wants to close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and expects to do so within the next two to three months.

reut.rs

270 2.2K 7.9K

Reposted by Doug Coulson

Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 6h

I am sounding the alarm that the GOP is engaged in an all out attack voting rights and free and fair elections. Voter suppression, gerrymandering, and troops in blue cities are just some of the ways they are using to try to rig the rules to keep power in 2026 and beyond.

Pay attention and act!

500 7K 16K